


slow it down

by Liu



Series: money, fame and fortune [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Gen, Kurt feels, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2014-03-22
Packaged: 2018-01-16 14:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1350157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liu/pseuds/Liu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a long flight from New York to Ohio... Kurt has some time to think about things he doesn't really want to think about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	slow it down

**Author's Note:**

> So this is again just a short one, a scene that was floating around in my mind... I can't guarantee the length of any other parts of this series XD

Elliott sleeps on his shoulder.

Kurt can feel the usual pressure in his ears and the dryness of the air-conditioning; the juice he just got is mildly stale and his seat isn’t strictly comfortable, but that might be more the result of his wayward thoughts than the plane’s construction. Going back to Lima for a few days was a spur of a moment decision, born out of the horror at the glee club being disbanded for real this time; Kurt’s first instinct upon hearing the news was to find Santana and Rachel, and even they were shocked enough to let up on their mutual animosity. Kurt isn’t blind, though – he could see it in their eyes that they aren’t as invested in his plan to save the glee club as he is. He doesn’t really care: all that matters is that in the end, they agreed to come back to Lima for the weekend and try to raise some money to give to Mr. Schue, so he has some leverage against Principal Sylvester’s decision. 

But not all of them are going back. There’s Dani, who’s currently quietly laughing at something Santana said, the two of them huddled together a few rows down from Kurt; he told Dani that she didn’t have to come, that they would all understand if she didn’t want to spend money on a plane ticket to execute a plan that might not even work, a plan to save a high school glee club she never had any interest in except dating one of the former members. Dani dismissed it with a wave of her hand:

“It’s important for you and for Santana, so it’s important for me as well.” 

And then there’s Elliott. He doesn’t have the girlfriend- or boyfriend-related excuse, and Kurt really shouldn’t be so hung up on why it is so strange for him to accept that Elliott wanted to come, when the guy didn’t bother to hide his excitement about One Three Hill having an opportunity to perform some more songs. It’s normal, being in a band and wanting to sing with them, there’s nothing suspicious about it; and yet, it’s difficult to not overthink this when Kurt can feel Elliott’s breath brush against the skin of his neck, just above the collar of his sweater. Elliot’s obviously one of those people who can’t handle public transportation without falling asleep within minutes; his head slid down from his seat a while back, and Kurt has been paralyzed ever since, torn between gently pushing Elliott away under the excuse of having to use the bathroom, and staying right where he is, unhealthily conscious of every minuscule twitch Elliott makes.

Kurt glances down at the man; Elliott’s eyelashes flutter a little, the movement emphasized by the toned-down-but-still-present eyeliner. The edge of the black line is smudged a little, right next to the corner of the eye, just above the small wrinkle that’s probably been etched there by Elliott’s bright smile, and Kurt is a little startled by the proximity that allows him to see details like this. Elliott takes a deeper breath, and Kurt’s heart stops a little; he looks away, meeting Rachel’s eyes across the aisle. Sudden inexplicable defiance washes over him, makes him hold her gaze. Why is she looking at him like that? She has no right to try and communicate the things which her eyes are saying for her, a slightly raised eyebrow, a quick shift of her look towards Elliott. Kurt doesn’t even know why it irritates him so much, Rachel looking – it’s not like the airplane is a private space. He can hear someone’s kid giggling too loud, someone’s grandmother talking a stranger’s ear off, the flight attendants offering drinks left and right. But somehow, the warmth of Elliott’s cheek pressed up against Kurt’s shoulder feels like something that shouldn’t have witnesses, and it scares Kurt, the intensity with which he wants to hoard this moment for himself.

He pushes Elliott away gently – the sleepy look the man gives him as he falls back into his seat does nothing for dispelling the swirl of emotions tangling together in Kurt’s mind. He can feel Rachel’s eyes following him down the aisle to the claustrophobic space of the tiny bathroom.

The splash of cool water over his face helps Kurt compose himself a little bit.

Somehow, a certain spot on his shoulder still feels much colder.


End file.
